Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
M attie returned to her villa flushed from the sun, the kiss, and the ride with Adam. No matter how many times she told herself it was a mistake, her thoughts kept circling back to how right it felt to be in his arms.
Someone needed to talk sense to her, because her promise to behave was about to be broken. She went immediately into the bedroom, dug her cell phone out of purgatory, then did the time zone math. It was almost seven here in paradise, which made it eleven a.m. in New York. Perfect.
She dialed the first person she always turned to for advice.
The phone rang six times and went to voice mail.
“Hi. You’ve reached Lizzie Bellamy at Belhurst Castle. Please leave—”
Mattie hung up. “Dammit.”
She hit Piper’s number. It was eight in the morning in Los Angeles, so she half expected the call to go directly to voice mail.
Instead, her sister picked up on the second ring, looking far too awake for the hour in a black studded cap and a white tank top. There was a microphone behind her, which probably meant she was in a studio session.
“Hey, Mattie Cake. How’s the beach?”
“It’s fine. Good, actually.” She squinted at the background. “What are you doing up and functional this early?”
Piper glanced behind her and waved at someone. “Give me a few, okay?”
She turned back to the camera. “I’m practicing some of the voice-overs for the animated thing.”
“I thought that didn’t go into production until next year?”
“The animation doesn’t, but the rest of it is already in the works. They’re using me as a model for the character animation so the voice work gets done first. I’m going to be an actual princess.” Piper wiggled her eyebrows.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Mattie teased.
Piper stuck her tongue out at her. “Anyway, it’s a fascinating process. I kind of pushed my way in at the beginning so I could see how it’s done.”
“Of course you did,” Mattie said with a laugh. She felt sorry for the poor animator who tried to stand in Piper’s way. “And they couldn’t say no to Piper Bellamy now could they?”
“No.” Piper bared her teeth. “I might bite. Besides, I just want to make sure I get it exactly right, which I think they appreciate. So what’s up?”
Mattie took a deep breath. “I think I screwed up.”
Piper’s happy expression morphed into concern. “What’s the rock hound done? Are you okay? Should I send in a team to get you out?”
“No.” Her lips twitched at the idea of a SWAT rescue team being deployed on her behalf. “I’m okay. It’s not him. It’s me. It’s all me.”
“Oh, good. So what’s going on?” Piper relaxed and leaned back against the wall .
It was such a long story Mattie didn’t know where to start. Finally, she blurted out the main thing that kept invading her thoughts. “I kissed him.”
Piper’s eyes widened, and a slow smile crept onto her face. “I see.”
Mattie groaned. “I shouldn’t have done it.” She propped the phone up against the lamp and picked up a pillow to hug.
“Why the hell not? He’s hot. I’d kiss him too if I was there.”
“I’m supposed to be a professional, that’s why not, and now I’ve gone and made it all complicated.”
Piper rolled her eyes. “Mattie Cake, there’s nothing complicated about this. He likes you. You like him. You kissed him and he kissed you back. Um, he did kiss you back, right?”
“Yes.” She buried her face in the pillow.
“Well there you go. So what’s he like?”
Mattie lifted her head and smiled. “He’s really into the music on a wholistic level. His voice is perfect. It’s rich and a little growly, and right in that sweet spot between bass and tenor.”
“Leave it to you to assess his music skills first,” Piper said looking amused. “He’s behaving better than Devon, right?”
“He started out being a little aggressively intense, but after I dumped him in the ocean he evened out.”
“You pushed him.” Piper blinked. “Okay, I’m going to need the whole story. Start with when you got to the island and finish with the kiss. Leave nothing out.”
Her sister listened without interrupting until Mattie reached the boat incident. Piper howled with laughter, loud enough for someone in the background to ask if something was wrong.
“I wish I’d been there to see his face.” Piper waved away whoever it was and wiped tears out of her eyes. “You know, he must really like you. Most men would have run after you did that.”
“I still can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe I kissed him like that either, but I have to admit it was nice. Really nice.”
Piper wiggled her eyebrows. “Nice as in superhot, or nice as in further exploration is needed before you decide?”
“Piper. You’re supposed to be talking me out of his bed, not into it.” She checked the time on her phone. “I have to go soon. I’m still covered in ocean and dinner is usually in about an hour.”
“You want me to talk you out of having fun with a scorching hot rock star? What have you been smoking? If you wanted someone to be sensible with you, you should have called Lizzie.”
“I did. She didn’t answer.” Mattie looked out the window at the trees that separated her villa from Adam’s. He was probably over there right now, getting ready for dinner. She had a feeling he’d be washing off the salt and sand in the outdoor shower. She pictured his bare chest, wet and glistening in the sunlight. It sent a little thrill through her. She remembered how his lips had felt on hers, and suddenly it was too warm in the room.
“Interesting.” Piper drew the word out in a know-it-all sisterly tone. “I haven’t seen that look on your face in years. You really like this guy. Okay, if you want sense talked at you, here it is. I know you’ve been avoiding any real relationship for a while now. You run every time a man gets close.”
“I do not,” Mattie interrupted. “I don’t run. The project ends and I move on. That’s a completely different thing.”
“You. Run,” Piper said with emphasis. “You flit away like a bee in search of a new flower. You’ve been doing that ever since Della broke us up, and while I get how damaging that was for you, I say maybe it’s time to work past that. ”
Mattie frowned and waved away her sister’s concern. “I’m doing just fine.”
“Yeah, we all saw how fine you’re not doing at brunch. You ditch guys before they have a chance to ditch you because you think they’ll behave just like Della, and I don’t think living that way for the past four years has made you happy.” Piper looked entirely too smug and satisfied with her assessment.
Mattie glared at her. “I suppose you ignoring men altogether and pretending Della doesn’t exist for the past four years makes you happy, does it?”
“This isn’t about me,” Piper said through gritted teeth. “And because I assume you didn’t call me to pick a fight I’m going to ignore that.”
Mattie winced as the worms of guilt burrowed into her heart and squeezed. Why did guilt always, always follow after she lashed out with her unvarnished thoughts? Piper clearly didn’t suffer that sort of reaction. Neither did Della. It wasn’t fair. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Piper’s face softened. “It’s hard to keep feelings bottled up the way you do. You’ve been under a microscope lately, and you never liked standing in the spotlight to begin with. You were bound to pop your top eventually. To be honest, I’m proud of you. You finally told Della what you should have told her four years ago. That had to feel good.”
Mattie shook her head. “No. Not really.”
“Don’t worry, it gets better with practice.”
“Does it really?” Mattie had a feeling that brave face Piper wore was just that. Underneath, her sister was a pile of marshmallows.
“Well, it gets more satisfying anyway.” Piper looked a little distant, as if remembering something. “The more you let it out, the less traumatic it will be, that’s for sure. ”
Mattie squeezed the pillow in her arms. “So you think I should go out with Adam?”
“No.” Piper gave her a wicked little smile. “I think you should have a fling with a sexy man on a tropical island and realize that not every relationship leads to a PR disaster, and not everyone out there is as selfish as Della.”
“I tried that with Brian, remember?” Mattie said. “I did that weekend in Vegas with him to celebrate the end of the project last year and now he’s using the photos as promo material for his new album.”
“Brian’s a tool, but what he’s doing actually boosted your visibility, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s not like you were naked.”
“I might as well have been. That was a sheer nightgown, and it was a private moment. He wasn’t supposed to share it with the entire world on Instagram.”
“Has Adam tried to get photos with you in a string bikini?”
“I don’t wear those, and no. He sent the staff photographer away when we first got here. The only photo that’s been taken this entire trip was today, when we got on the Jet Skis. The staff photographer, Don Something-or-Other, took a group shot since nobody had their phones with them.”
“See?” Piper leaned back. “You’re sequestered halfway around the world, away from prying eyes. Take advantage of it and live a little.”
The thought was so tempting it made her want to run straight over to Adam’s place and…what? She told Kat she wouldn’t do anything like that, for good reason. “You don’t get it. If I do that and word gets out, there’ll be tabloid headlines for the next six months, and everyone will think I did it to get credit for another song I didn’t write. They already don’t take me seriously as it is, especially after Devon’s Twitter rampage.”
“Anybody who knows you and your work takes you seriously, Mattie. Haven’t you seen how many people defend you every time he posts?”
She hadn’t looked. She’d been too afraid of what fans would say. She got up and fished in the closet for something to wear to dinner. “Sure they defend me now, but what happens when the next juicy photo hits? So far all they have is a shot of us shaking hands. I don’t want to put any more fuel on that fire. Devon would go absolutely nuts. I can just see the post now. Run, Brooks, run, before she spins her web on you too.”
“That asshole doesn’t get to police your love life. If anybody’s going to do that it’s me, and I say forget the jerks who came before and have some fun.”
“I have to be careful, and professional. At least until I win that award.” Mattie carried two dresses back to the bed. One was very short and fire-engine red with a sweetheart neckline and thin straps. The other was long and white, with a halter-style top that dipped low in the back. “Which one?”
“The red one. Definitely. And you’re not being professional, you’re being a scaredy cat,” Piper said. “Trust me, if the rest of the song is anything like the lines you sent me, this song will definitely win awards. People who matter will know the truth. So will your fans, which is the most important thing.”
“If a photo of us goes viral the fans will forget all about the song.” Mattie put the white dress on the bed and held the red one up in front of her. It barely reached her thighs, but she loved the color. “I don’t know if I should wear this to dinner with the guys. It’s not really a dress. It’s supposed to go over a bathing suit.”
“You’ll never find out if Adam has other skills if you keep going to dinner with the entire band,” Piper said with an exasperated sigh. “You’ll look hot in red. Put a bathing suit under it and stop worrying about what might or might not wind up on Twitter. Seize the moment. March your pretty little behind over to Adam’s place and find out if he’s good at something else besides singing and kissing.”
Mattie gave her sister an exasperated smile. “I have to go.”
“Promise you’ll at least get another kiss,” Piper demanded.
Mattie picked up the phone and hovered her finger over the End Call button. “Love you.”
“Love you more.” Piper waved half-heartedly. “Call me later. I want details.”
Mattie ended the call and stashed the phone back in the drawer without looking at the waiting text messages or emails. She’d been on the phone so long she didn’t have much time to get changed.
The house phone rang just as she stepped into the bathroom. Abayomi probably wanted to know what she’d like for an evening snack or breakfast the next day. She trudged back to the bedroom to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mattie,” Adam said. “I was wondering…would you like to go on a picnic with me? Cooper had it planned for him and Tina tonight, but she’s backed out. It’ll all go to waste if someone doesn’t go, so he offered it to us.”
“Oh,” Mattie said.
Piper’s advice rang through her head. Live a little. Have some fun. Seize the moment. Find out if Adam is good at something besides kissing.
“Mattie?” Adam sounded confused. “Are you there? Is this thing working?”
“I…um…”
A picnic. Probably on a beach. Under the stars.
She couldn’t think of anything more romantic than that. Why would any woman turn that down?
What was she thinking? She really shouldn’t do this. All the reasons she should say no lined up in her head like planes on a runway. What if something went wrong? What if it didn’t? What if photos leaked to the tabloids? What would Kat say?
“Mattie?”
She started. “I’m here. Sorry, I’m just getting ready.”
“Oh,” Adam said. He paused, and it was her turn to wonder what was going on. She thought she could hear the guys in the background laughing, but maybe she was imagining it. “Um, yeah. Me too. So, anyway. About the picnic. No pressure. We can do the usual dinner around the bonfire with the guys if you want.”
She pictured the two scenes and heard Piper’s voice in her head. You’ll never find out if Adam has other skills if you keep doing dinner with the entire band.
Her sister was right, and the realization that she very much wanted to know if Adam had other skills besides kissing made her open her mouth and say the words she probably shouldn’t say.
“Okay. A picnic sounds like fun.”
“Great. The driver will pick us up in about thirty minutes. That work okay?”
She glanced down at the white powdery dust covering most of her legs and arms, then over at the two dresses waiting for her on the bed. It was a good thing she’d never been one of those girls who needed two hours to do her hair. She could dash through the shower and spend the rest of the time deciding whether to be a seductress in red or an innocent in white.
“Okay. See you then.”
They hung up, and she padded back to the shower feeling lighter than she’d felt in a long time.